Can you name the blind Black man whose music was recorded on a Golden Record called "The Sounds of Earth," placed in a time capsule in 1977, and sent out of our solar system on Voyager I? No? Here's a book that gives the man, Willie Johnson, his due: Instead of starting off with the … Continue reading Dark Was the Night – Perfect Picture Book Friday
I don't know about you all, but I'm desperately feeling the need for a little sweetness of spirit and connection. When this book arrived this week, it felt like it could help heal a tiny part of what's broken in our world. Swashby's an old salt, a curmudgeon, a grumpy old man who has no … Continue reading Swashby and the Sea – Perfect Picture Book Friday #PPBF
As school winds down during spring's last gasp, children everywhere are looking forward to the long, lazy days of summer. But not just the days, the crepuscular hour that signals day's end. For many, it's the time to get outside after the heat of the day (sorry, San Francisco kids, summer is really winter, here) … Continue reading Dusk Explorers – Perfect Picture Book Friday #PPBF
I never thought I'd be smitten by a counting book. And I'm still not smitten by a counting book, because FOUR OTTERS TOBOGGAN is so much more than that. It's an ode to nature, a prayer, a salute, a love letter, a bedtime lullaby—all in the guise of a counting book. First the love letter … Continue reading Four Otters Toboggan – Perfect Picture Book Friday
If you were the moon, what would you do? Would you just lollygag up there in the sky, lazily rotating about your axis once every 27 days, never showing your dark side to your mama? "Helloooooo up there, moon! I'm sooooo tired. I wish I could do exactly nothing, just like you." "But I … Continue reading If You Were the Moon – Perfect Picture Book Friday
In honor of National Poetry Month and Perfect Picture Book Friday, I'm shining the spotlight on a brilliant Caldecott and Coretta Scott King Award Winner from 1997: "They took to the road in Waycross, Georgia Skipped over the tracks in East St. Louis Took the bus from Holly Springs Hitched a ride from Gee's Bend … Continue reading Harlem: A Poem by Walter Dean Myers
I loved Jacqueline Woodson's MG/YA book, "Brown Girl Dreaming." It was the first book I'd ever read by this fabulous writer. So I went in search of some of her picture books. And I'm happy to say that I love "This Is the Rope" just as much. So here's my book for Susanna Leonard Hill's … Continue reading This Is the Rope – Perfect Picture Book Friday
Jilanne Hoffmann 